Former President Trump will likely skip the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, prompting mixed reactions from fellow Republicans.
Recent polls of Republican primary voters show Trump holding a sizable lead over all other candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Two Republican senators — Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) — do not appear to have a problem with Trump skipping the debate, per The Hill.
“It’s up to him,” said Hagerty, who supports Trump in the race.
“I have no opinion. He’s going to make whatever decision he thinks is best for his campaign,” said Rubio.
Other Republican notables were more disapproving of Trump’s apparent decision to forgo the Milwaukee debate.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) represents the state that will hold the first Republican primary, the Iowa caucuses, and believes Trump should participate in the debate. Trump already spurned an annual fundraising event in Des Moines that Ernst put on last month. The event attracted eight other primary hopefuls.
“Yes, he should. I think all of our Republican candidates need to express their views on the topics that are really important not just to Iowans but to all Americans,” Ernst said, according to The Hill.
Without Trump in attendance at the debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will likely attract the most attention from the other candidates, who will try their best to replace him as the most serious challenger to Trump.
Candidates like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may suffer the most from Trump’s absence, as Christie has focused his campaign messaging on attacking the former president.
In addition to the first debate, Trump has declined to participate in a series of interviews Tucker Carlson plans to hold with six other Republican candidates, as reported by the Daily Caller. The list includes Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and DeSantis.